dafron
Joined: 30/11/10
Posts: 77
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Recommendations for some 'crowd' mics
#949033 - 24/10/11 09:38 PM
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Hi all,
I am looking to start recording our live music at church on a regular basis.
Our new mixing desk is an Allen & Heath Zed 436 which has direct outs on every mono
channel so we're looking at getting a Firewire Audio Interface and ADAC combination to
record the 16 channels used by the band. However, we'd also like to use 2 'Crowd Mics' to
get more of a 'live' feel.
Can anyone recommend any decent 'budget' crowd mics
that we could buy to try? We can't afford the likes of the AKG 414's but we have a budget
of around £100 per mic.
Thanks all.
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MarkOne
Joined: 15/02/07
Posts: 950
Loc: Bristol, England, Earth, Perus...
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Re: Recommendations for some 'crowd' mics
[Re: dafron]
#949084 - 25/10/11 08:26 AM
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I hung a couple of these http://www.dv247.com/microphones/audio-technica-pro-45-cardioid-condenser-
hanging-microphone--11582 over the congregation area, and they provide a pretty nice
result on our recordings. They're discrete too. Pretty much nobody knows they're there.
-------------------- New album 'Fantasy Bridge' available now!
Making of Fantasy Bridge Diary
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grab
Joined: 08/07/07
Posts: 2626
Loc: Cambridge, UK
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Re: Recommendations for some 'crowd' mics
[Re: dafron]
#949094 - 25/10/11 08:55 AM
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Small omnis would do the job unobtrusively. The Silver Bullets reviewed a few months
back, for instance - and you'll have change from £100 for a pair.
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James Perrett
Joined: 10/09/01
Posts: 9645
Loc: The wilds of Hampshire
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Re: Recommendations for some 'crowd' mics
[Re: dafron]
#949095 - 25/10/11 08:56 AM
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I've used AKG C1000's for this in the past - mainly because they're what I happened to
have handy. The Rode M3 is probably a more versatile alternative nowadays but most small
diaphragm condenser mics would do. James.
-------------------- JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net
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dafron
Joined: 30/11/10
Posts: 77
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Re: Recommendations for some 'crowd' mics
[Re: dafron]
#949112 - 25/10/11 09:35 AM
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Thanks for all the replies so far.
At the back of the room, we have a balcony
and I was hoping to stick the crowd mics up there. Would that not work?
So
which would be better out of these:
1. Audio Technica Pro 45 Cardioid Condenser
Hanging Microphone
2. Rode M3
3. AKG C1000
Thanks again
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grab
Joined: 08/07/07
Posts: 2626
Loc: Cambridge, UK
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Re: Recommendations for some 'crowd' mics
[Re: dafron]
#949146 - 25/10/11 10:47 AM
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Anything other than the C1000....
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dafron
Joined: 30/11/10
Posts: 77
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Re: Recommendations for some 'crowd' mics
[Re: grab]
#949147 - 25/10/11 10:48 AM
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Quote grab:
Anything other than
the C1000....
Why?
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James Perrett
Joined: 10/09/01
Posts: 9645
Loc: The wilds of Hampshire
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Re: Recommendations for some 'crowd' mics
[Re: dafron]
#949218 - 25/10/11 02:02 PM
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Many people consider the C1000 to be harsh sounding and it probably isn't such a good
investment nowadays but, when it first came out, there were very few mid market condenser
mics in the same price range. Personally, I prefer to put crowd mics next to
the PA speakers (but slightly behind them) so that you are picking up the sound of the
crowd directly and you don't have to worry about the delayed sound from the PA. If you
place them at the back of the room, they'll be looking at the backs of the audience's
heads. James.
-------------------- JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net
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dafron
Joined: 30/11/10
Posts: 77
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Re: Recommendations for some 'crowd' mics
[Re: dafron]
#949220 - 25/10/11 02:05 PM
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Thanks James, that's excellent. Are there any more recent mics in this price range that
you'd consider? Thanks also for the suggestion of the mics going just behind
the speakers. That's a brilliant idea (and means they'd be well out of the way and we
could use the same multicore to feed them back to the recording interface at the back 
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grab
Joined: 08/07/07
Posts: 2626
Loc: Cambridge, UK
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Re: Recommendations for some 'crowd' mics
[Re: James Perrett]
#949231 - 25/10/11 02:25 PM
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I've had pretty good results taping mics directly to the speaker stands too. I put a bit
of foam (spare mic socks) between the mic and the stand to prevent bass coming down the
stand and into the mic.
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dafron
Joined: 30/11/10
Posts: 77
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Re: Recommendations for some 'crowd' mics
[Re: grab]
#949232 - 25/10/11 02:27 PM
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Quote grab:
I've had pretty good
results taping mics directly to the speaker stands too. I put a bit of foam (spare mic
socks) between the mic and the stand to prevent bass coming down the stand and into the
mic.
Thanks Grab. Definately
something worth trying. To start with I will be recording our band practices to try and
find the optimal positions for the mics (although the band practices are in a different
room, the equipment is the same).
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James Perrett
Joined: 10/09/01
Posts: 9645
Loc: The wilds of Hampshire
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Re: Recommendations for some 'crowd' mics
[Re: dafron]
#949405 - 26/10/11 09:12 AM
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Quote dafron:
Thanks James,
that's excellent. Are there any more recent mics in this price range that you'd
consider?
The Rode M3
has a good reputation but I've only used one briefly. I was also impressed with the
overhead mics in the Superlux drum mic kit when I used them. It depends how fussy you are,
but most small diaphragm condenser mics would work - even the really cheap ones.
James.
--------------------
JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net
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dafron
Joined: 30/11/10
Posts: 77
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Re: Recommendations for some 'crowd' mics
[Re: James Perrett]
#949416 - 26/10/11 09:58 AM
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Quote James Perrett:
Quote dafron:
Thanks James,
that's excellent. Are there any more recent mics in this price range that you'd
consider?
The Rode M3
has a good reputation but I've only used one briefly. I was also impressed with the
overhead mics in the Superlux drum mic kit when I used them. It depends how fussy you are,
but most small diaphragm condenser mics would work - even the really cheap ones.
James.
Thanks James, I'll have a
look at them. Would the Rode M3 be a better buy than the AKG C1000?
Thanks
again
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dafron
Joined: 30/11/10
Posts: 77
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Re: Recommendations for some 'crowd' mics
[Re: dafron]
#966349 - 25/01/12 04:12 PM
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Hi Guys,
Revisiting this now that I've got the rest of my gear.
I
spoke with a Pro Audio shop and they recommended that I buy a pair of SE Electronics
SE1A's for crowd mics but I'm still very interested to hear thoughts on something like the
Rode M3 which come out at roughly half the price of the SE1a's.
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